December 13, 2012 9:23PM (UTC)

This doesn’t mean Kim is TIME’s Person of the Year. That choice is made by the editors of TIME and will be revealed Dec. 19 on the Today show, on TIME.com and via TIME’s Twitter handle. The poll allows readers to weigh in on the people—and things (Hello, Curiosity Rover!)—whom they think influenced the news, for better or worse, in 2012.

“While we don’t make our selection based on the poll results,” said TIME executive editor Radhika Jones in a recent interview, “it’s always interesting to see where some of our preferred candidates end up.” (For more on how TIME editors choose the Person of the Year see our full Q&A with Jones here)

This continues Kim Jong Un's streak of winning meaningless awards this year, following his selection as The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive.

Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.